After experiencing three losses today’s guest felt ashamed and guilty of her grief as she experienced secondary infertility with already having two children.

Jessica Hortman had a spontaneous miscarriage in 2015 at 6 weeks, a miscarriage due to a submucosal fibroid at 10 weeks in 2016, two years years of not getting pregnant, and then finding out she had a fibroid in 50 percent of my uterus. After having the fibroid removed, Jessica had an ectopic pregnancy in 2018.

In today’s episode Jessica takes us back on how she navigated her emotions of grief while still being a mother, and how she is overcoming secondary infertility.

Have you heard of the term Chemical Pregnancy? Well in today’s episode our guest Brittany Bronson explains her journey to motherhood began with 2 chemical pregnancies and one blighted ovum. She was referred to a reproductive endocrinologist only to be diagnosed with unexplained infertility. They endured 2 rounds of fertility medication with no luck and decided to take a break. A month later they conceived their rainbow baby Carter naturally. In this episode she takes us on that journey of being pregnant after loss and infertility. This episode is for you to listen to if you want to learn about a Chemical pregnancy, blighted ovum, and stepping out on faith to trust God during your journey to motherhood. 

April is what we call our Sisters in Loss Fertility Awareness Month. All month long we will be talking to women who have had fertility challenges, gone through alternative fertility treatments like IUI or IVF, and continue to push through the barriers to grow their families.

In today’s episode as we end Black Maternal Health Week we have LaTaunya Andrews who shares her PCOS journey and infertility challenges.  LaTaunya is a Navy Military wife residing in beautiful San Diego, California, while her husband is currently on deployment.  LaTaunya was diagnosed with PCOS when she was 21, and her doctor told her she wouldn’t be able to have children.  She started her journey to motherhood back in September 2015, after changing her lifestyle to shrink her cysts, she conceived in December 2016 with the help of Clomid.  She was so happy and felt quite blessed, however on January 6, 2017 just 2 days after hearing the babies heartbeat for the first time she found out she was miscarrying.  LaTaunya left the hospital defeated, but determined to have a baby.  She went on to conceive again in January 2018 and that ended in a chemical pregnancy.  In this episode LaTaunya shares where she is now currently in her journey after a hysteroscopy removing precancerous cells, hyperthyroidism diagnosis, and a benin tumor on her pituitary gland.  LaTaunya is determined to bring home her rainbow baby and shares how she keeps going inspite of set back after set back, and how she stays grounded.  This episode is for you to listen to if you have PCOS, hyperthyroidism, Pituitary gland tumor, or infertility challenges that make you question “why me God.”

Tomorrow begins Black Maternal Health Week April 11-17, 2019 and there is no better way to kick off this week than talking to the women of the Birthing Justice movement. I had the pleasure of meeting these ladies this past December at the Black Mamas Matter Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The work these women do around Maternal Health and Mortality is remarkable. In today’s episode we have Dr. Sayida Peprah who is a doula, licensed clinical therapist, speaker, and member of the Black Birthing Justice movement. She shares what Birthing Justice movement is, why doulas are important, and what we can do to help the infant and mortality rates in our community.

April is what we call our Sisters in Loss Fertility Awareness Month. All month long we will be talking to women who have had fertility challenges, gone through alternative fertility treatments like IUI or IVF, and continue to push through the barriers to grow their families. In today’s episode we have Tina Fuller, author and certified nutrition coach and my fellow plant based sister who shares her loss of her son who was tragically hit by a car and secondary infertility journey. Tina and her husband Rashon are the founders of FullerQuest, a holistic healing advocacy company. Tina shares in the this episode how she grieved the loss of her son when she was so young, how fibroids have played a role in her secondary infertility, and how changing her diet and switching to eating plant based and living a holistic lifestyle is how she is healing her body from fibroids. This episode is for you to listen to if you have fibroids (which most black women do have), and want to understand how to heal your body from the inside out by eating more plant based meals.

March is Pregnancy After Loss Awareness month. This month we are discussing Pregnancy After Loss, but also loss of jobs, marriages, and family members as you grieve the loss of your angel. In today’s episode we have Benita Gordon who shares her infertility journey due to Endometriosis, IVF journey, and grief from divorce. She is a mother in waiting and Benita shares the other side of grief and how it impacts a marriage in this episode. Benita shares how endometriosis impacted her ability to conceive, going through 4 rounds of IVF, losing a twin pregnancy, losing her mother, and eventually losing her marriage. This episode is for you to listen to if you have ever felt like throwing in the towel with your infertility journey, but want to know what it looks like on the other side of grief, loss, and divorce. Benita is candid in her story and I know it will bless you!

Pregnancy loss and infertility can be so hard on a marriage. It can either tear the couple apart or bring them closer together. In fact it is said that almost 80% of couples who experience a miscarriage or infertility end up in divorce. In this month of love we will be featuring 4 couples showing by prayer, faith in God, and a strong commitment to stay together their marriages endured the hard times of pregnancy loss and infertility. In this episode we have the Pruitt’s who share their infertility journey and how they are gracefully waiting on their promise from God. Glenn and Natasha have been married for 4 years and live in Austin, Texas. They have never conceived so that lead to many doctor visits, trying different types of medicines, having procedures, many emotional rollercoaster, attempt to foster to adopt a teenager, which tested their marriage. Gracefully Waiting was birthed with anticipation of giving hope to other women battling infertility. The Hope Gift Boxes allows Natasha to share her story and start a conversation of giving hope in the midst of the storm. In this episode we learn how the Pruitt’s are gracefully waiting for their blessing while serving God and being faithful to the call on their lives as ministry leaders.

Pregnancy loss and infertility can be so hard on a marriage. It can either tear the couple apart or bring them closer together. In fact it is said that almost 80% of couples who experience a miscarriage or infertility end up in divorce. In this month of love we will be featuring 4 couples showing by prayer, faith in God, and a strong commitment to stay together their marriages endured the hard times of pregnancy loss and infertility. Today’s couple is The Hutchinson’s who share their infertility and IVF journey and new book “I Still Want to be A Mom.” Shara Hutchinson went through over six rounds of Clomid, two miscarriages, two laparoscopic surgeries, one D&C, two failed IVF cycles, one failed FET, an ectopic pregnancy, and was finally able to have her miracle baby from her third IVF cycle. In this episode she and her husband Todd share their journey to parenthood, how their faith helped them endure the disappointments, and how their miracle rainbow baby inspires them everyday.

The hardest part of going through a miscarriage or infertility is not having friends who can relate to this experience. How many of you had to distance yourself from your friends or friendships ended or shifted as a result of your loss or diagosis? Well, I have been blessed that this was not the case for me and my BFFs. If anything we have learned that our friendship can endure the best of times and the worse of times. In today’s episode we have my BFF of over 15 years on the show Amber Smith-St. Louis. Amber and I met in college at Virginia Commonwealth University in our first Chemical Engineering course and have been thick as thieves since. In this episode we just have girl chat and talk about how our friendship has evolved over the years. How we have supported each other through dark times, and how I am supporting her now in her new season trying to conceive after a miscarriage and Endometriosis diagnosis. This episode is for you if you have a BFF or girlfriends and want some inspiration on how I have maintained my friendships through my losses and infertility.